Linkbar

Sugar Coma - Get Your Fix In Atlanta!

January 23, 2010

Sweet N' Sinful Bakery

Revisiting last weekend's trip to Atlanta through pictures made me smile real big again. It was packed with places to see and goodies to eat. I was staying at a dear friend's house and we took time to cook traditional meals from her country and catch up with everything going on in our lives. I spent a good chunk of time with Tami, Chris and Broderick sampling some fine fares in the city. Last but not least, I almost blown up my insulin levels by following Shameeka on two Sugar Coma tours of some of the finest and hippest sweet joints in Atlanta.

I am in no way obligated to talk about the tours (I was invited to both morning and afternoon tours) and the trip but I must. I want to, if only to thank all these wonderful bakers and pastry chefs who have welcomed us and spoiled us so well during the day. They set aside precious time to talk about their journey, their careers, their craft and their products. Their generosity extended far beyond all the samples set out for us in their shops. Atlantans, I sincerely hope you will patronize many if not all of these sweet spots. You won't be disappointed.

Instead of a lenghty description of each eatery we hit, I'll just go through my food charged weekend through pics and brief captions. I'll try anyway...

That's my friend Tami. I think she is one of the most beautiful people I know. Inside and out. She is the one who instigated my coming to Atlanta and I can't thank her enough for the wonderful time I had.

Elderflower gimlet at Abattoir. I had two of them. I also started seeing two of everything slightly faster than anticipated.

Beside a little service miss (really slow service and fish entree not cooked through for Tami) the rabbit rillettes were excellent. Chris's duck meatballs were bathing in the most succulent broth I have had and I just wanted to go to bed with that goat cheese mousse and berry compote. Seriously.

So happy to see Broderick from Savory Exposure during this trip, here enjoying his pork tasting plate. Abattoir's chocolate pot de creme will make you fall off your chair. Tami almost did!

The first Sugar Coma tour started around 9 a.m with a breakfast stop at No Mas Cantina. A memorabilia, merchandise filled restaurant where we sampled savory and sweet breakfast items. Great food, great coffee. Lots of gluten free choices.

Next stop was Cacao. Wow. Just wow. Exquisite shop. Talented chocolatiers. These ladies don't just make chocolates. They source the best beans and bring chocolate to a new whole level of delectable.

Joli Kobe is probably the bakery that reminds me the most of home. The pastries and desserts are French influenced with a Japanese twist. Red bean filling, matcha buttercream, lovely macarons and other classics. The display of samples was enough to make my head spin. But there was lots more to do, see and eat...

The Cookie Studio was next on our tour. Such a great staff and I love that the bakery devotes time and resources to a great cause. If I were in the area, I'd probably stop there everyweek for giant cookies and friendly smiles.

Our last stop was Sweet N' Sinful (opening picture) and I have to say that the sugar was working deep in my vein and I was pretty much capping out on my intake for the morning. I did not sample anything there but from everyone's oohs and ahhs, I trust that all the cupcakes and sweet bites were delicious.

Salt was in sight. Lunch. I was so ready for it that I did not take any pictures but trust me, Black Tie Barbecue did it right. Wonderful smoked salmon and the best bok choy I have ever had. And then we were off for tour #2...

I loved listening to Patrick executive pastry chef of West Egg Cafe. We've had similar journeys to pastry and it is thrilling and invigorating to hear this much passion in someone. We stopped at their not yet open - still under construction location which holds lots of promises for people in the area. I loved that they do American classics like Red Velvet and Black Bottom Cupcakes and they do them to perfection. No fluff, just hands down good. That's how I like to roll too.

Can't tell what I loved more about our stop at Bakeshop. The unassuming name reavealing a downright hip joint? The tables set up with a communal feel? The variety of sweets to choose from? The breads and viennoiseries executed to perfection? I admit that last bit always makes me happy as a Frenchie, eheheh! To sum it up: just go. No matter what you get, you won't be disappointed.

Do not let yourself be intimidated by the ultra sleek and modern look of Noon Midtown. Everything inside screams "welcome and eat me" from the donuts provided by Sublime to the little morsel of chocolate cakes and millionaire bars. It all goes down real easy with a hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows or a liquor spiked coffee like I had. I swear I did not know! No wonder it went down so easily...

Our last stop was Little Cake Bakery and I have to say that at this point I was all sugared out. I actually had a little moment in the car (and what a ride we had) when I looked at my phone and the thought of adding one more twitter update kinda sorta made me wish for fresh air instead. As Tami brilliantly said it: "A pickle on a crouton sounds awesome right now". Even more brilliant were the owners of the bakery for giving us a sample box to take home and eat at leisure instead. Loved that.

Thank goodness for Bocado and a lovely meal of savoury items such as roasted brussel sprouts with capers and parmesan, gnocchi with sausage and kale and yet we could not resist their lovely persimon cake for dessert.

Thank you Shameeka for inviting me to be part of this wonderful enterprise. The Broke Socialite does it right. Be proud. Atlanta is lucky to have you.Full Discloure: I was gifted tickets to both Sugar Coma tours and all meals that were not included in the Sugar Coma tours were at my own expense.

59
comments:

As usual, you captured the moments of SugarComa and Abattoir so beautifully. My heart raced a little bit looking at all the photos - it was like being there all over again. I also enjoyed seeing the parts of the tour I wasn't on.

You are just the most wonderful. Thank you for the kind words - and for taking a photo of me I actually like! ;)

Yum! Everything looks so delish. I don't blame you for being sugared out though. After one dessert I need some salt to wash it down. I think I would need to turn this into a weeklong tour. :) Gorgeous photos. So glad you had such a good time.

Whoa, baby. I think I might fall in love with the Cookie Studio and that lovely chocolate shop. Sort of starting to talk about a Southern road trip with a few girlfriends...will have to bookmark this if we decide to do it.

Thanks for the culinary tour of Atlanta! From the sweets to the savory spots you went to, all look divine! Kind of a bummer when your body tells you it's had enough sugar. All the treats look fab. Love the stacks of cookies at The Cookie Studio. Those duck meatballs look way tasty! Beautiful photos, makes me want to journey south!

Hi, Helen, Thanks for your information you've shared. I really love macarons and I've applied your macaron recipes too many times so far. However, it seems that there are some points I misunderstood. I hope you can help me with these issues that I write below. I read your article about macaron baking with Bakerella (hope this is the right spelling)and I noticed that you're using 90 grams of aged egg whites. I used to break eggs and separate 90 grams of egg whites and then I used to leave these 90 grams of egg whites to be aged. I'm still doing the same thing. As a result of this, the egg whites always decrease 5 or 6 grams in. Which one is correct? Leaving 90 grams of egg whites for aging? Or leaving more than 90 grams and having totally 90grams of aged egg whites at the end?Besides, my macarons' shapes never look well. They get larger, oval shapes. They become scratchy. They oftenly crack; though I leave them to rest for an hour before baking. They don't get feet sometimes or sometimes they get overfeet! Is it because the egg whites' amount I use or is it related with my oven?Thanks for everything. I enjoy reading and applying your recipes; especially macarons. And I try them in my kitchen. You can see some macarons in my blog also.

Isilca Tatlar: I measure my egg whites after they are aged so I measure 90gr but I have also done the other way where I measured 90gr first and then let them age and I had a 3gr loss of white which did not change anything in the making, shaping and results. You are ok even 5-6 gr. If you really want to pick hairs with your batter, remove 2 teaspoons of almonds and 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar. As you can see that amounts to nothing and even tricky cookies like macarons can be forgiving for such a small loss.

Re-shaping: that comes from the testure of your batter. If it is too loose, the macs won't pipe properly. (you probably over folded)Re- cracking: could come from the uneven heat distribution in your oven or overfolding.

wish I'd been to Atlanta and on your big foodie trip about, especially to Cacao. It looks like such a great spot to hang on for us sweet-tooths! :) Your gorgeous pictures have so distracted me from my research but I'm loving every second of ogling at them! x

I would be so happy to win either of the two books. I visited a hot little bakery today and had fun looking at all the different kinds of breads available to purchase. Amy's Bread would be fun to read. I also saw lots of yummy sweets waiting to be gobbled up. Pecan shortbread cookies, oatmeal cranberry cookies, banana bread etc. I could enjoy the unforgettable desserts just the same!

Hi! Just stumbled onto your Blog and had to say Hello and tell you how much I enjoy reading it. I am originally from the Boston area, but while working in the hotel/catering industry, I lived on Sullivan's Island in Charleston for a few years in the early 90's. Loved it and miss it dearly. Say Hello to the beach for me please!